This invention relates to a laparoscopic instrument assembly or device. This invention also relates to a laparoscopic surgical procedure. The method is useful in inserting inserting drainage tubes into internal organs, e.g., cholecystostomy tubes, cecostomy tubes, gastrostomy tubes.
Laparoscopy involves the piercing of the abdominal wall with a trocar and the insertion of a tubular trocar sleeve through the perforation. Upon a withdrawal of the trocar from the sleeve, various instruments may be inserted through the trocar sleeve to perform surgical operations inside the abdomen.
Generally, upon the disposition of the first trocar sleeve so that it traverses the abdominal wall, the abdominal cavity is pressurized to distend the abdominal wall and provide a safety region between the wall and the body organs inside the cavity. Moreover, several perforations are made. One perforation receives a laparoscope which enables visual monitoring of organs and surgical activities inside the abdominal cavity. Other perforations serve for the insertion of different surgical instruments.
Laparoscopic surgery provides several advantages over conventional incision-based surgery. The laparoscopic perforations, in being substantially smaller than the incisions made during conventional operations, are less traumatic to the patient and provide for an accelerated recovery and convalescence. Hospital stays are minimized. Concomitantly, laparoscopic surgery is less time consuming and less expensive than conventional surgery for correcting the same problems.
Many patients require drainage of fluids from internal organs. Operations to insert drainage tubes into the gall bladder, the large intestine, and the stomach are known as cholecystostomies, cecostomies, and gastrostomies. It would be advantageous to have a simple method for performing such operations.